Driver is charged with fraud

Friday

Sep 26, 2008 at 2:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — A Durham man is charged with a felony count of insurance fraud alleging that a half-hour after he got into a car crash, he called his insurance provider to increase his benefits, then filed a bogus claim.

Elizabeth Dinan

PORTSMOUTH — A Durham man is charged with a felony count of insurance fraud alleging that a half-hour after he got into a car crash, he called his insurance provider to increase his benefits, then filed a bogus claim.

Local police allege Guoguin Ren, 26, of 325 Forest Park, crashed his 1996 Saab on July 1 while driving on Route 108 in Stratham. According to court records, shortly after the crash he phoned Progressive Insurance in Portsmouth and upgraded his auto policy to include comprehensive and collision. He then reported the collision for a claim, while falsely saying the crash occurred after he changed his policy, police allege.

An affidavit by Detective Chris Roth states he reviewed surveillance images taken from a gas station near the crash scene with time stamps verifying the allegations.

Ren, who according to court documents is a Chinese citizen in the country on a work visa, is also alleged to have confessed when confronted by police.

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